Sail Away
by ArWen of sMirkwood
Summary: Post-ROTK story about mainly Legolas and Gimli, and will extend up to what happened when they reached the Undying Lands. My idea of how come Gimli was allowed to go there...reviews are much appreciated.
1. Leaving Home

Disclaimer: No idea who Legolas Greenleaf is:-P  
  
Chapter 1---Leaving Home  
  
Legolas Greenleaf sat up in the fork of his favourite oak tree,  
  
dangling his legs in the air casually. He had finished his tasks for  
  
the day, and now he did not feel like doing anything else. He stroked  
  
the trusty bow that he had received from the Lady Galadriel of  
  
Lothlorien, and the arrows. Of course he could go practice his  
  
archery skills, but just the previous day he had already done archery.  
  
He had to go somewhere, anywhere, where he could find something  
  
worthwhile, meaningful and useful to do. It seemed to him that ever  
  
since the end of the War of the Rings, he had been idling around his  
  
home, Eryn Lasgalen, achieving nothing. His restless and active  
  
nature just did not permit him to idle around. Naturally he was glad  
  
to be home, but now yet again he was feeling stifled, and clamouring  
  
to get out somewhere.  
  
Most of all though, thoughts of the Sea and the Undying Lands invaded  
  
his mind and even his dreams on occasion.  
  
"The Lady's words were true," Legolas thought pensively. "Did not she  
  
warn me to beware of the cry of the gulls? Indeed I have found no  
  
real peace ever since I returned home."  
  
He looked sadly round at the woods that he had loved, that had been  
  
his home throughout his life.  
  
"I am sorry, my friends. I have always loved you, but now my love of  
  
the Sea is greater than my love for you." He thought.  
  
Then he jumped as he felt someone slowly and rather clumsily clamber  
  
up the tree and settle beside him.  
  
"Ha! An elf caught off guard is something new to me!" A very familiar  
  
deep voice startled Legolas out of his reverie.  
  
"Gimli! Well met, my friend!" Legolas took a deep breath. "What  
  
brings you hither out of the Lonely Mountains? And no, I sensed your  
  
presence long ago, if you must know." His tone was slightly haughty.  
  
Gimli snorted. "Elf pride, eh? You almost jumped out of your skin  
  
just now." He mocked, but he clapped his friend affectionately on the  
  
shoulder. "I have been calling you for the past ten minutes. Hmpf,  
  
making me climb the tree." He grumbled.  
  
"You have yet to tell me why you came," Legolas quickly changed the  
  
subject. "Not that I am not glad to see you." He hastily added.  
  
Gimli reached into a pocket and withdrew a sheet, passing it to the  
  
elf. Legolas read silently. It was a letter from Aragorn, King of the  
  
Western Lands, inviting the dwarf and Legolas to visit him in Minas  
  
Tirith, where the man dwelt with his Queen Evenstar, and at the same  
  
time fulfill their promise to help rebuild the ancient city.  
  
"So you have decided to go to Minas Tirith?"  
  
"Indeed," the dwarf answered gravely. "My lord has permitted it.  
  
Since our homes are so close, I thought I would stop by and see if  
  
you would do the same."  
  
Legolas hesitated. "I would, but I know not if my father would permit  
  
it. He is.rather overprotective sometimes." He concluded, rather  
  
abashed.  
  
"Go and ask him, then," Gimli urged, "And I will go with you and  
  
declare my presence, ere your people think that I am trespassing."  
  
Legolas led the way back to the palace where he lived, though Gimli  
  
had already visited him a few times in the past and knew the way  
  
reasonably well.  
  
"Gimli at your service, Lord Thranduil. My lord sends greetings to  
  
you and the folk of Eryn Lasgalen," Gimli bowed in dwarf -fashion.  
  
"Well met, son of Gloin," Thranduil replied. "I suppose you have come  
  
hither to visit Legolas."  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"Gimli is here not only on a visit, Father," Legolas put in. "He is  
  
stopping by on his way to Minas Tirith. Our friend, Elessar, has  
  
invited us to go thither to Minas Tirith and help rebuild his city."  
  
"Oh? And how long would that take?"  
  
"I know not, Father. I thought.that I would go south and dwell there  
  
indefinitely. After all, it is close to Anduin, and the Sea."  
  
"And never return home?" There was an edge to Thranduil's voice.  
  
Legolas hesitated. "Yes."  
  
"You have hardly been home from the War for more than a millennia,  
  
and here you are wanting to go away again."  
  
"I know that, Father, but I could hardly break my promise to  
  
Elessar." There was a wheedling note in the younger elf's  
  
voice. "Also, I have found no peace here anymore."  
  
"And you hope to seek refuge from your longing for the Sea and the  
  
Undying Lands in Gondor, where it is near the Sea? I doubt that you  
  
will."  
  
"But, Father.," Legolas cut in slightly desperately.  
  
"Say no more, my son. I will not permit you to leave." Thranduil  
  
turned around and strode away.  
  
"Father!" Legolas grabbed his father's arm. "I must leave, go to a  
  
new place where I can find something worthwhile to do. I feel that I  
  
have been idling my days away."  
  
"There are plenty you could find to do here." Thranduil said curtly.  
  
"Nay, Father, I do not find pleasure in what I do here. Furthermore,  
  
I long to see my friends, whom I have not seen for so long." Legolas  
  
pleaded.  
  
"Your friends can come hither to see you, if they are willing, as  
  
Gimli is doing now."  
  
"I will take my leave tomorrow, if it is no trouble." Gimli said, "I  
  
know not when I can come hither again, but if you are not permitted  
  
to go, Legolas, I will surely come and visit when I may. I would not  
  
wish you to defy your father."  
  
"I will go with Gimli, unless you tie me in a sack and throw me into  
  
the dungeons." Legolas said in one breath. He knew not where that had  
  
come from, but it was too late to retract it.  
  
"That I will do, if I have to."  
  
The tension in the air was so thick then that one could have put a  
  
knife through it. Father and son stared at each other in the eye,  
  
both unwilling to yield to each other.  
  
Finally Legolas turned to the embarrassed and harried-looking  
  
Gimli. "Let us go, now," the elf urged as he grabbed his friend's arm  
  
and pulled him along. Legolas hurried out and started running, his  
  
longer legs causing the dwarf to lag behind. They came upon the gates  
  
and Legolas gave the password that would open them.  
  
But the gates did not open. They stayed shut, the great magic gates  
  
looming, still and silent in front of the duo. Legolas shook the  
  
gates hard but still they did not budge.  
  
"Legolas, come to your senses, will you?" Gimli shook his head, still  
  
panting from the running. "Do as your father says. Besides, you have  
  
naught with you. Where do you think you can go?"  
  
Legolas spun around and strode back towards the palace, and right to  
  
his father Gimli worriedly hovered outside the chamber. "Father, have  
  
you changed the password to the gates?"  
  
"Indeed. I have told you that I will not permit you to go. If you  
  
insist, you have two choices: either to stay in the dungeon, or to  
  
stay free here, but not go one step out of the gates. And should you  
  
still try to leave, go and do not come back."  
  
"Father., please understand. I have my reasons for desiring to leave."  
  
"What are they?"  
  
"I.I know not how to explain to you, Father." Legolas faltered.  
  
"All I ask, Legolas, is that I will be able to have my family with me  
  
till the end of our days in Middle-earth. Is that too much to ask  
  
for? Your brother and sisters are married and gone away. I only  
  
desire to spend my days with my family, and you are the remaining one  
  
to keep me company most of the time." 


	2. Trapped At Home

Disclaimer: Gee, still no idea who the heck Legolas Greenleaf is, or Gimli, for that matter. And if I don't know who they are, no one can sue me on this, eh? Borrowed them from somewhere…I forget where :-D

Thanks to the 3 reviewers! I did type out the chapter with proper spacing in Word, but somehow it came out as that strange and unreadable version. Let's hope this one will come out the way it should be! No, this isn't my first fanfic, please check out my other 2 pieces and leave reviews, so that I'll be encouraged to post and write more of them. And more reviews for this, pretty please? 

Chapter 2: Trapped At Home

Guilt washed over Legolas. He knew that his father had never fully recovered from the grief of losing his mother(whom he did not remember, and had never known), who apparently had been captured and tortured to death by orcs. In fact, his mother had been carrying him, as a baby then, while attempting to escape, and had left him in the forest in a bid to save him. He had then been adopted by some gorillas, and had matured into an adult ere he had been found and returned to the elven realm. His apparent disappearance and subsequent re-appearance had also caused much emotional turmoil to the family.

"Forgive me, Father, but I still insist on leaving."

"Very well. I imagine you will not take a liking to the dungeons, so you are given access to the palace grounds, and no further. Gimli, perhaps you will like to have a meal and some rest ere you leave on the morrow."

Gimli looked at his friend. "I think I will stay with Legolas, if it is no trouble."

"As you wish. But you are free to leave, alone, when you please, of course."

Legolas and Gimli walked silently side by side in the corridor, until they came upon Legolas's chamber. The elf threw himself onto his bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Are you truly so anxious to go, Legolas?" Gimli finally broke the silence.

The elf bit his lip and nodded firmly.

"Why?"

"I feel…stifled here. I need a change of environment. I love my home, but I no longer find peace under these very trees that bore me. The longing for the sea never sleeps, Gimli."

Legolas sounded so sad and lost that Gimli wanted to reach out and hug his friend, but it seemed awkward and inappropriate. Gimli could see his friend's troubled eyes, and he felt truly sorry.

"Perhaps in a new place where I can be occupied, the longing will not haunt me so." Legolas continued. Gimli realized that it must have taken a lot for the elf-prince to bare his heart to him. Though the two were quite close friends as it was, there was still a distance between them, because they were so different.

"I will not leave hither without you then, but will keep you company."

Legolas looked shocked at his dwarven friend. "Do you know what you are speaking of, Gimli? Do not be foolish. It will mean that you will have to stay here with me, and be trapped here like a bird in a cage. There is no way out of this place save the gates. Nobody will help us." Legolas sprang up from the bed and paced his room, then peered out of the window. Finally with a frustrated sigh he stomped out and went out onto the gardens. For the rest of the afternoon he paced up and down the green lawns, roaming like a lost spirit that was trapped somewhere, with Gimli trailing after him.

"Well, I could hardly leave you here, not when you are unhappy," Gimli said. "That is not how a friend would behave."

Legolas stared solemnly at his friend. "I have met some dull-witted dwarves, but you must be the most dull-witted of all, to desire to stay here with me."

"I? Dull-witted?" Gimli huffed, a little miffed. 

"But I am grateful for that. You are a most faithful friend." Legolas continued. "I was merely jesting, my friend. Look how bothered you are." A smile stole onto the elf's face.

Gimli thumped Legolas on the head with his hood. "I will never appreciate elf-humour."

The two friends sat under a beech tree and reminisced about the days of the War of the Rings.

Before they realized it, the noon was gone and it was time for the evening meal. They went indoors to have it. 

"Are you certain that you want to stay hither, Gimli?" Legolas asked as he picked at the main course. Gimli smiled to see that his friend seemed much happier with his company. Elviondel, one of the elf-warriors of _Eryn__ Lasgalen and a close friend of Legolas, was sitting with them and keeping a watch on the prince as requested by the lord, to ensure that the prince went no further than the palace grounds. Not that Legolas could have gone anywhere, for even after the Enemy had been overthrown, habit caused the wood-elves to still be cautious and post guards around the palace and in their realm, night and day. The walls were high and the gates were impassable without knowing the procedure of opening them. Thranduil had actually devised a way to keep the gates shut that was not easily discovered by others. There was no other way out._

That night Gimli was given a guest chamber right beside Legolas's, and that night they sat up late talking.

"Is there really no other way out?" Gimli asked in a low voice.

"None, as I know it. Of course, I know my own home very well. There is no other way out."

Gimli sighed.

Legolas was deep in thought. "Maybe I could disguise myself as one of the others when my folk go out hunting."

Gimli snorted. "They might recognize you immediately. Besides, I am so different in looks from you. Suspicion would be aroused when they see an 'elf' that is round and short."

Legolas tittered. Then silence.


	3. History Repeats

Yes, the 2nd chap came out right J  reviews please, they really make my day !   
Disclaimer:Guess I know who Lego and Gimli are now...lol...they're   
MINE!MY OWN!MY PRECIOUS!;-);-) j/k I'll return them( and whoever   
else I use) to Tolkien in one piece,lol.  
  
Chap 3--History Repeats  
  
"You might as well propose that we disguise ourselves as goods, or   
that we swim out in the stream that leads to the Forest River."   
Gimli jested.  
  
Legolas sprang up, his eyes shining with excitement. "I have it!   
Gimli, you are a genius!"  
  
Gimli looked bewildered. "Do not jest with me, elf. I cannot swim,   
and you know that well. I was merely joking."  
  
Legolas grabbed Gimli's arm in his zeal. "No, you misunderstand me.   
I do not mean swimming. Do not you recall how your father escaped   
from my home with his companions, and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins?" He   
winked.  
  
Gimli's eyes grew wide. "Yes! Why did not we think of that sooner?!   
My father has told me of this many times, and I remember how I   
laughed, begging your pardon." Then his face fell, and he looked   
deflated. "But the circumstances are different this time. Your folk   
will not be fooled in the same manner twice. And there would be no   
one to pack one of us in a barrel. Nay, this would not succeed."  
  
"Elviondel will help us, I know," Legolas said. "I am a prince here,   
remember. I feel sure that I can persuade a couple of them to aid   
us." Gimli looked dubious. "Hesitate no more, Gimli. I am determined   
to go, and I would not have you trapped here with me. In a week or   
so, it will be our autumn festival, to mark the change in seasons,   
and also to thank the Iluvatar and the Valar for giving us what we   
have. My father will have a grand feast as usual. Almost all my   
folk will be involved in the preparations and merrymaking. The time   
for carrying out this plan would be ripe."  
  
The dwarf sat down uncomfortably. "Well…we would risk great   
punishment, I fear, if we are discovered. It would also be a very   
uncomfortable mode of travel, and we risk being drowned or   
suffocated."  
  
"My mind is made up, Gimli," Legolas said firmly. "Whether you are   
willing to accompany me or not, I will go."  
  
"Crazy elf," Gimli shook his head. "Come to your senses!"  
  
"I am not afraid, Gimli, though I am aware of the risks. You may   
stay here if you wish."  
  
Gimli looked at the determination in his friend's bright elven-  
eyes. "If you are game enough to try this bold plan, I am game for   
anything too." The pair smiled at each other. "Besides, what would I   
do all alone here? Also, if I did not follow you, you are sure to   
get into some trouble."   
  
They drew up a detailed plan. Elviondel was let into the secret, and   
although reluctant, as a loyal friend, he was willing to do his   
part, for it saddened him too to see his friend unhappy. Legolas   
went to the chief butler to enlist his help. The elf was quite   
scandalized to hear what the prince proposed.  
  
"Why, my lord, I cannot do this! If I was discovered to have played   
a part in your disappearance, the king will have my head! Surely you   
would not want such a fate to befall me! All of us are under the   
king's orders to keep you here, my lord, and he cannot be defied."  
  
"If you keep mum, none will be the wiser."  
  
"But…"  
  
"You forget that I am your lord too. You must not defy me, for this   
is an order." Legolas's voice was hard and authoritative.  
  
Gimli stared at his friend in surprise. He had not seen him acting   
the prince before. In fact, Legolas behaved so humbly and normally   
that often his friends forgot that he was a prince and treated him   
as an equal, as he treated them. An amused smile played across the   
dwarf's features, and he was quite tempted to laugh when he saw the   
expression on his friend's face. He was recalling the moment in the   
plains of Rohan during the War of the Rings, when Aragorn had acted   
with the authority and dignity of a king. He had wore an expression   
that was almost identical to the one Legolas had now.  
  
"Forgive me, my lord, but I cannot do this. Furthermore, the king's   
command overrules the prince's command, and that is the law."  
  
"If you do not do as I command, very soon every one of our folk will   
know what you did. You can be sure that the punishment meted out   
will not be much better than having your head off."  
  
The butler looked troubled, and flustered. "Forgive me. Your wish is   
my command." He hastily blurted out. "Please continue to keep the   
secret to yourself, my lord!" Gimli looked on, incredulous and   
nonplussed by the abrupt change . Legolas explained to the chief   
butler his part in the whole affair, and the latter agreed, nodding   
the whole time.  
  
When the friends were alone, Gimli curiously asked, "How did you   
manage to change his mind so quickly?"  
"I have a hold over him."  
  
"What would that hold be?"  
  
Legolas furtively looked around, and spoke in a low voice, "I hope   
it will suffice to say that he committed a sin that he would want no   
one to know. And I happened to see him do it. If my father should   
know of this, all I can say is, may the Valar save our butler."  
  
"You are blackmailing the butler!" Gimli burst out in shock.  
  
"Shhh….keep your voice down!" Legolas hissed. "Believe not that all   
Elves are virtuous folk who would never intentionally do wrong." He   
winked. "Though I am only doing this because I have no choice."  
  
  
  
  
  
Soon the big day drew near. The whole of the Eryn Lasgalen was   
buzzing with activity, for the wood-elves were kept busy making   
final preparations for the grand feast. This particular occasion was   
rather important that year. For the very first time in a long time,   
the remaining Lorien elves would join their kinsmen in the feast and   
celebrations, and naturally Thranduil's folk wanted to make a good   
impression.  
  
There was to be the usual ceremonies, and then a specially grand   
feast, followed by dancing, singing and much merrymaking. The elves   
had much to do, scurrying about putting up the decorations and   
ensuring that there would be enough food to go around, and checking   
that everything was as it should be.  
  
Thranduil himself was busy, for he had to supervise the   
preparations, and do this and that and a thousand other things.  
  
So Legolas found it relatively easy to prepare for his escape   
unnoticed, when he was not helping out. He discreetly brought out a   
traveling pack and sorted out his belongings meticulously, deciding   
on the most important items to take with him, for they were to   
travel light.  
  
  
  
Finally the day arrived. Thranduil waited at the gates to welcome   
the guests. He looked absently around. "Elviondel, saw you Legolas?   
He ought to be hither to welcome our kinsmen as well."  
  
"My lord, he is unwell and is resting in his chamber."  
  
"Unwell?" Thranduil frowned. "What has he come down with?"  
  
"He says that he has a headache and a fever, and a stomachache as   
well, but that he ought to recover with some rest."  
  
Thranduil sighed. "This child will be the death of me. On such an   
important occasion, he falls ill. Are you certain he is not feigning   
illness just to get out of everything? He looked well just   
yesterday."  
  
"My lord, I believe that Legolas is truly ill. He is rather pale.   
Worry not, I will stay with him."  
  
"Nay, Gimli will suffice. I need your help, Elviondel. I have a lot   
to do."  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Gimli and Legolas were alone in Legolas's chamber. They   
had packed what they could into a pack each. The palace halls were   
completely empty, for the entire celebrations would be held   
outdoors, and every single elf was already outdoors, even the   
servants, for the feast was all set up ready and waiting.  
  
Legolas seemed rather skitterish, and was absently looking around   
his room.  
  
"What do you seek, my friend?" Gimli asked.  
  
"Nothing, Gimli, just ensuring that I have not left anything   
important behind."  
  
Gimli peered out of the window, which faced the clearing where the   
celebrations were being held. The venue was already packed with well-  
dressed elves.   
  
Just then, Legolas started, and sprang hastily into bed.  
  
"What is it?" queried Gimli.  
  
"Someone comes," Legolas hissed. Gimli padded(as softly as a dwarf   
can) to the door and peeked out. Legolas's sisters, Elriowiel and   
Elriodriel, and brothers-in-law Elladan and Elrohir were drawing   
near. Gimli sat down in a chair. Legolas was already lying   
motionless, covered with his blanket, his eyes open and staring   
unfocused; his breathing like that of a sleeper. He looked for all   
the world as though he really was asleep.  
  
Elriodriel walked right into a chair without realizing it and there   
was a loud clatter. Gimli put his finger to his lips.  
  
Legolas shifted a little and called out, "Gimli! Would you be quiet,   
I cannot rest if you are making such a racket."  
  
"It is not I," Gimli said, a little incensed, but he decided to play   
along, "but your sisters."  
  
"I am sorry," said Elriodriel, "but I walked into a chair that you   
have left lying around. Father wanted to know if you wanted to come   
down and join in the festivities."  
  
"Am I not barred from the festivities? After all, where it is held   
is beyond our palace grounds."  
  
"Nay, Father will not bar you from the festival, of course."  
  
"No thank you, I would rather rest up hither."  
  
Elladan indicated the map that was hanging on Legolas's wall. "This   
map is very well made. Very meticulously detailed." It was a map of   
Eryn Lasgalen, and the surrounding areas.  
  
"Legolas made it himself," Elriowiel said with a hint of   
pride. "Well, we will leave some food and drink for you and Gimli   
here, Legolas."  
  
"Elladan, Elrohir, why did not you pass away over the Sea with your   
father? Do you not miss him?" Legolas asked suddenly.  
  
The brothers hesitated and exchanged glances. "Certainly we miss   
Father. But we are—how shall I put it---bound to our love for Middle   
Earth," Elrohir finally said," Why do you ask?"  
  
Legolas nodded and lay back down. He felt a little better. He would   
much have desired to sail over the Sea, but it was only his love for   
Middle Earth and what he had here that made him stay. "Nothing much."  
  
"Will you not join in the festivities, Gimli?" Elriowiel asked.  
  
"No thank you, I will be stationed here." The two friends exchanged   
surreptitious glances.  
  
When the `intruders' had exited the room, Gimli hurried over to the   
tray of food and tucked eagerly into the delicious food.  
  
"I have to compliment you on your acting skills," Gimli said, his   
mouth full of food. "You looked as though you truly were ill and   
asleep."  
  
"Thank you. I have to compliment you on your eating capacity. Never   
have I seen a dwarf who can eat this much. You may have my share   
too, if you like." Legolas half-jested.  
  
  
The dwarf watched the ceremony with interest. They planned to wait   
till the ceremonies were over and the merrymaking and feast was in   
full swing ere they descended to the dungeons.  
  
The elves were singing some hymns in their native Silvan tongue,   
which Gimli of course did not understand much. Legolas had taught   
him some words, but Gimli was not one who was competent in learning   
languages. Next the elves pranced around the trees, singing songs in   
Quenya this time, and then knelt in prayer for what seemed to the   
dwarf like eternity.  
  
Gimli then saw the elves begin to disperse and head towards the good   
food laid out, a clear sign that the feast was beginning. Gimli   
waited till he saw all the elves seated in groups eating, drinking   
and talking before nudging Legolas.  
  
"Legolas, it is time to go, I feel."  
  
Legolas looked wistfully out at his celebrating kinsmen. "This is   
the biggest occasion of the year, save the New Year. I always   
enjoyed the celebrations."  
  
"You still have an opportunity to give up, if you will."  
  
Legolas smiled, a little too brightly. "Nay, we have gone too far to   
go back. Come, Gimli, let us hasten to the underground storey."  
  
The pair tiptoed quietly down to where the stream ran swiftly from   
the foundations of the palace to the open. The gates that barred the   
waterway had already been raised. The chief butler and Elviondel   
were waiting.  
  
"Here you are," Elviondel greeted the duo. "Are you set?"  
  
"How comes it that you can be here?"  
  
"How could I not be here when my friend is going away, perhaps for   
good?" Elviondel answered. "I could not let you leave without saying   
farewell. I managed to occupy your father and distract him. It was   
indeed difficult to stop him from going to your chamber!" the elf   
shook his head, "I had much to do, but I managed to slip away   
unnoticed. Come, we must hasten if you are going off."  
  
Gimli was helped into a barrel.   
  
"Why did not you select a bigger barrel for me?" Gimli grumbled as   
he was squeezed in rather tightly. Straw was packed in as well.  
  
"It was one of the largest, Master Gimli," the butler   
protested, "Forgive me. But it is only for a short time, so please   
bear with it."  
  
The chief butler had been ordered to go into the dungeons to collect   
some last-minute additions, and drop the empty barrels and cartons   
into the river to be sent to Laketown, so no one was suspicious of   
his absence.  
  
Legolas embraced Elviondel tightly, then climbed into another barrel   
next, but his slender tall frame was crammed so tightly that it was   
decided that the barrel was too small. The butler went in search of   
a better container, and returned with a wooden box, which Legolas   
was more comfortable in. The elf-prince was almost bent double, but   
it was a great improvement over the previous container. However, his   
long bow of Lorien would not fit into the box. Neither would the bow   
fit into the two luggage barrels, for it jutted out prominently. His   
long silver knife would not go in either.  
  
"Alas!" Legolas cried, dismayed, "I must bring the bow of the Lady   
with me! It is one of my most precious, important possessions." The   
group was at a loss until the butler left them and returned with a   
specially long box. Gimli's axe, the bow and the quiver of arrows   
were wrapped in waterproof oilskin and put in.  
  
"Thank you, you have been most helpful!" Impulsively Legolas leaned   
over and gave the bewildered butler a squeeze. Finally he clambered   
into the wooden box. He was well-padded with straw as well, but it   
seemed to Gimli as though his friend was better-protected.  
  
"Favouritism," Gimli thought to himself. He watched Elviondel and   
the butler put the lid carefully on and tightly. Out loud he   
teased, "A nail in your coffin, Legolas, eh?" The four laughed.  
  
"For your foul mouth, you will be the first to go! Farewell, Gimli!"   
Elviondel and the butler grunted as they tugged the now-heavy barrel   
and released it with a splash into the stream.  
  
"Farewell, Legolas, and may you and Gimli have a safe journey! Come   
back when you may, and forget us not!" Elviondel called to his   
friend.  
  
"Farewell, Elviondel! My deepest gratitude for all your aid,"   
Legolas called out.  
  
"Here goes nothing!" Legolas thought to himself as he felt the box   
fall into the river with a loud splash. Dimly, behind him, he heard   
three more splashes as the luggage barrels and his weapon- container   
tumbled into the stream.   
  
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Sorry about this chapter being extra long, but I thought my previous   
chapters were all too short.


	4. Lothlorien

Disclaimer: Tolkien: Legolas and Gimli are MINE!MY OWN!MY PRECIOUS!  
Me: yeah I know, can't you loan them to me for a short   
while?   
  
Pls read and comment; any comments would really make my day :-)  
  
Chap 4  
Gimli cursed in his dwarven tongue as he felt the barrel being   
buffeted from side to side by the rushing stream. Though the sides   
of the barrel had already been lined with as much straw as was   
possible, the bumping was still rather uncomfortable and painful,   
and on occasion Gimli felt as though he was butter being churned   
from milk. It was also hot and stuffy, and it seemed as though air   
was in short supply. He longed to stretch his limbs, but all he   
could do was to wriggle around slightly, and even that was   
uncomfortable, for the straw was prickly.  
  
"Why ever did I let that elf persuade me to do this?" Gimli berated   
himself. He was quite certain that if they did not suffocate, at the   
very least they would be extremely sick when they had exited their   
containers. He wondered how Legolas was faring in the next   
container, and worried about him. Soon, though, he forgot about his   
friend, and wished with all his might that he could be freed from   
this suffering.  
  
Then he gasped as he felt himself dropping down suddenly. A groan   
escaped from his lips, for the knock he had received had been rather   
forceful. Then he felt the container behind bump him.  
  
Finally when Gimli felt that he could no longer stand it, he reached   
out and heaved at the lid of the barrel. He pushed hard several   
times, and at last the lid fell open.  
  
Feeling the water rushing in, Gimli tried his best to scramble out,   
but his cramped and stiff limbs seemed reluctant to obey him, and   
Gimli floundered around helplessly, gulping down a few mouthfuls of   
stream water in the process. Eventually he managed to grab the   
barrel, and he held on for dear life.   
  
Bright sunlight illuminated the sky. Gimli successfully steered   
himself to the river's banks, and wearily clambered out and lay   
there panting.   
  
With a start, he suddenly remembered Legolas. The containers and the   
barrels were now ahead! Gimli ran along the bank of the river, and   
fortunately was able to catch hold of the two long containers and   
the barrels and drag them onto the bank. He was glad now that   
Legolas had thought of marking the barrels, otherwise they would   
have had no way of identifying which was which.  
  
"Legolas? You can come out now," Gimli called, knocking on the box.   
He heard the elf heave at the lid.  
  
"Gimli?! Can you move the lid?" Gimli heard his friend's voice,   
muffled and with a wild note in it. Legolas heaved and Gimli tugged,   
but the lid was so tight that it was unmovable. No matter how they   
huffed and puffed, the lid remained in its place.  
  
Gimli heard Legolas rain blows on the lid, to no avail.  
  
"Legolas, calm down! I will think of a way!"  
  
"It is hard to breathe…"  
  
Gimli frantically tried to get the now-rusty wheels in his brain to   
spin. What could he do? Then he snapped his fingers, and hurried   
over to the weapon-box, which opened with little effort. Seizing the   
haft of his axe, with a careful but firm stroke, he hewed at the   
wooden lid. Inserting his fingers in the hole created, he managed to   
remove the lid.  
  
Legolas sprang up like a jack-in-the-box, greedily gulping in the   
fresh air. For a full half-hour all they could do was to lie down   
and moan and attempt to shake the cramp and stiffness from their   
limbs.  
  
"You and your bright idea," Gimli grumbled," had it not been for me,   
you would have suffocated to death in your `coffin'." He coughed and   
rolled a little, still trying to work some life into his arms and   
legs.  
  
"Thank you for saving my life," Legolas returned, "Why, did you have   
a better idea? If so, I would have liked to hear it."  
  
"Come, it is time for us to go into hiding for the present," Legolas   
said after a long pause. They tried to stand up, but ended up   
crawling into a thicket of trees. Legolas glanced at his friend.  
  
"Your hair and beard is hanging like a mop," Legolas ribbed, "You   
crawl like a lion with a wild mane."  
  
"Why, your hair looks like a hornet's nest," Gimli returned,   
regarding his bedraggled friend. Both laughed. They settled down to   
some dried food and drank deeply from the river, for their mouths   
and throats were parched. Then they lay down on some soft moss that   
made a good bed, and slept.  
  
Much recovered the next morning, they readied their luggage(which,   
in fact, was merely two backpacks and a bag filled with food),   
washed up, and embarked on their journey.   
  
"Know you where we are now?" Gimli asked.  
  
"Yes. Come, we go in that direction along the Forest Road."  
  
"Will not we be seen, in this broad daylight?"  
  
"I know secret shortcuts that we can use," Legolas answered. He led   
the way, and they stayed on the main path for a while, then steered   
into the undergrowth. Gimli felt rather uneasy, straying off the   
road like that, but he had little choice. They went on for a long   
way in the forest, and after some hours Gimli groaned, stout though   
he was. The trying `journey' in the river had taken its toll on him.  
  
"Are we near to the end, Legolas? We seem to have walked forever. We   
are not lost, are we?"  
  
"Hm….Alas, I seem to have lost the way!" Legolas sounded genuinely   
alarmed. He stopped and looked frantically around. "I have yet to be   
in this part of the forest before!"  
  
"What?" Gimli cried. "Stupid elf! What are we to do,now? Loth was I   
to venture off the path. Yet you said you knew the way, so I trusted   
you."  
  
"Hm…." Legolas hesitated, "Let me think….perhaps we should go that   
way…"he switched directions.  
  
"Will our food last? I assume that we will take a long time to—or   
maybe never--- find the way." Gimli had little choice but to follow.   
He dragged his tired limbs after the elf, who was rapidly—and   
seemingly tirelessly--- pushing his slender body through the   
undergrowth. "Ai Elbereth, help us! Have mercy on us and let us find   
our way out of this place!"  
  
The elf turned around, amused that his dwarven friend was using   
elvish phrases.   
  
Suddenly, beyond a thicket of trees, they came out into the open,   
and in fact right onto the road!  
  
"Why, we have found our way out!" Gimli cried with great   
mirth.  
  
"Of course," Legolas said smugly, "I know my home like   
the back of my hand. I was jesting with you. We were not lost at   
all. In fact, we have cut short about three-quarters of the original   
distance."  
  
"You!" Gimli shook his fist at the elf.  
  
"Fool of a dwarf! Do not you hold trust in my ability?   
Long or short, in my home, my cuts don't go wrong." Gimli began to   
chase his friend, and laughing, Legolas sprang ahead, easily   
outpacing his friend.  
  
It was a long, long journey south to Minas Tirith,   
almost unachievable on foot. As planned, the two friends stopped at   
the house of Grimbeorn, son of Beorn, who willingly furnished them   
with fresh food, and a horse.  
  
  
  
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
  
PilGariand, elder brother of Legolas, went up to his   
brother's room and found it empty. He at once saw the note that   
Legolas had left. It was addressed to their father, but PilGariand   
had no qualms about reading it. As soon as he had fully digested the   
meaning of the contents he hurried down to where his father was,   
letter in hand.  
  
"Father!" PilGariand panted up. "Forgive me for   
interrupting, but this is urgent." He thrust the letter into a   
bewildered Thranduil's hands. As soon as the elvenking read it his   
face went white then red, but so as not to create a scene, he said   
nothing, and not till the end of the festivities did he show any   
reaction.  
  
"My fate is to not have my family by my side," he said   
bitterly, and isolated himself in his chamber, and would speak to no   
one for a long time.  
  
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
  
Legolas and Gimli were now close to Caras Galadhon,   
where most of the remaining Lorien elves still dwelt, and these were   
few. They were hoping to borrow a boat so that they might travel   
down the Anduin by boat, and reach Sarn Gebir. From there they would   
bypass the Fall of Rauros by foot, with the boat, and then travel   
down Anduin again till they neared Minas Tirith.  
  
The elves of Lorien glanced curiously at the pair. They   
no longer mounted such a close guard on the borders of their realm,   
and that was how Legolas and Gimli had managed to come thus far   
without being noticed or stopped by anyone.  
  
"Legolas and Gimli the dwarf, is it not?" A slightly   
familiar voice said in Westron.  
  
"Haldir!" The two friends cried simultaneously,   
instantly recognizing the golden-haired elf of the Golden Wood, whom   
they had met so many years ago.  
  
"Indeed. Well met, my friends."  
  
"I thought you would have followed the Lady Galadriel   
over the sea," Gimli piped up.  
  
"Yes, but I could not bear to leave Lorien, and never   
see the mallorn trees again. I will stay as long as I may. But now   
that our Lady has gone, the trees are no longer as beautiful as they   
were." Haldir's voice held a note of sadness. Indeed the mallorn   
trees did look a little less leafy than the visitors   
remembered. "Come with me." He led the visitors up the stairs once   
more, and into what had been Celeborn and Galadriel's oval-shaped   
chamber. But this time, Legendel, now the lord of the Lorien elves,   
was seated there.  
  
"Welcome once again, Legolas son of Thranduil and Gimli   
son of Gloin, to Lorien. There is one who wishes to speak to you,   
and he has long awaited you."  
  
Legolas and Gimli exchanged curious and amazed glances.   
Who could be waiting for them?  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------  
Well I tend to be rather long-winded when I write, so the story   
might seem rather slow-moving later on. Please be patient :-P  
  
  



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